NAIROBI, Kenya, March 5, 2026/APO Group/ –With Africa poised to become the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, policymakers and industry leaders are focused on a central challenge: how to translate rising demand into sustainable connectivity, competitiveness, and financial viability.

This question anchored deliberations at the two-day Airlines, Capital and Connectivity Forum convened in Nairobi on 25–26 February 2026 by the African Development Bank Group in partnership with the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).

Despite strong demand fundamentals, Africa’s aviation sector continues to face structural constraints, including high costs of capital, fragmented regulatory regimes, infrastructure gaps, and limited access to long-term financing. To address these challenges, the Bank is advancing the Integrated Aviation Transformation Program (IATP), a continent-wide platform designed to modernise the aviation ecosystem and mobilise private, institutional, and concessional capital at scale. The programme seeks to align policy reform, innovative financing instruments, and project execution within a single, bankable framework.

The Forum brought together airline executives, transport ministers, regulators, investors, manufacturers, and development partners to explore how the IATP can accelerate coordinated delivery across the sector. Participants underscored aviation’s role as a strategic enabler of regional integration, trade facilitation, tourism, and economic diversification.

Opening the Forum, the Bank’s Director for Infrastructure and Urban Development, Mike Salawou, noted that while Africa’s aviation demand outlook ranks among the strongest globally, supply-side capacity and investment readiness have lagged. The IATP, he said, seeks to de-risk priority investments, support early pilot transactions, and restore confidence among commercial and institutional financiers.

From the industry’s perspective, AFRAA Secretary General Abderahmane Berthé highlighted the scale of the opportunity and the imbalance confronting the continent. “Africa represents nearly 18 percent of the global population but accounts for less than three percent of worldwide air traffic, reflecting structural and regulatory barriers rather than weak demand,” he said.

Remarks delivered on behalf of Kenya Airways described Africa as the largest structural aviation opportunity of the 21st century. Over the next two decades, one in four new global air travellers is expected to originate from Africa, driven by rapid urbanisation, a growing middle-income population, and a youthful demographic profile.

However, the industry’s financial performance remains constrained. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), African airlines are projected to generate net margins of only 1–2 percent, below the global average forecast of 3.9 percent in 2026. High fuel costs, heavy taxation, incomplete liberalisation and limited hub infrastructure continue to undermine profitability.

Connectivity remains a critical bottleneck. Intra-African traffic accounts for only about a quarter of total air travel, with many passengers required to transit outside the continent. Participants emphasised that full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market is essential to unlock efficient intra-continental connectivity.

A keynote address delivered by Eric Ntagengerwa, Head of Transport and Mobility at the African Union Commission (AUC) on behalf of Lerato Dorothy Mataboge, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, framed aviation reform as an imperative for sovereignty, integration, and competitiveness. He observed that the Single African Air Transport Market is the designated African Union Theme for the Year 2027.

Discussions over two days focused on practical delivery, including strengthening airline bankability, advancing climate-aligned aviation, developing cargo and logistics, building skills, and deploying innovative risk-sharing mechanisms under the IATP. Country experiences from Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia illustrated how continental objectives can translate into coordinated national reforms and near-term investment opportunities.

Samuel Obafemi Bajomo, Senior Adviser to Nigeria’s aviation ministry, emphasised that forward-looking, pro-investment policy frameworks are critical to strengthening connectivity and unlocking Africa’s growth potential and positioning aviation as a catalyst for trade, tourism, and shared prosperity.

The Forum concluded with a clear message: Africa’s aviation demand is real, accelerating, and irreversible. The priority now is execution—aligning policy, capital and infrastructure to ensure aviation becomes a durable driver of inclusive growth and regional integration across the continent.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, March 5, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s Green Economy Summit (AGES) 2026 concluded in Cape Town with a resounding call to action, urging the continent to leverage its digital revolution, transform water financing and redesign agriculture to unlock a sustainable, net-zero future. The four-day platform united over 600 delegates from 42 countries, including global investors, project developers and policymakers. The consensus was clear that with sound policies and financial innovation, Africa can convert its climate vulnerabilities into economic opportunity.

Pioneering new models for climate finance

The summit opened with a focus on innovative finance for nature, exploring green, blue, and wildlife bonds, including the “Rhino Bond” and emerging biodiversity credits. A key lesson was the importance of engaging communities as core stakeholders, not merely beneficiaries.

Carl Roothman, CEO of Sanlam Investment Group, stressed the urgency of scale: “Africa needs billions of dollars. It’s great to dream, but we must act and at scale.” Iain Banner, co-founder of Go Green Africa and AGES, framed the shift as fundamental: “The green and blue economies are the new operating systems of the modern world.”

Government calls for practical collaboration

Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, Narend Singh, set a pragmatic tone: “This is where the rubber hits the road.” He emphasised moving from policy to tangible results, citing South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and renewable energy procurement programme as examples. Singh urged African nations to move beyond exporting raw materials: “A low-hanging fruit is developing local value chains and beneficiating minerals here, creating jobs and advancing technology.”

 

A digital imperative for climate action

Integrating climate goals with digital transformation emerged as a central theme. Siddhartha Raja, Senior Digital Specialist at the World Bank, noted that data centres could act as “anchor loads” to stimulate new renewable energy but warned that climate resilience must be designed in from the start. From flood-proofing to managing e-waste, which could spawn new recycling industries.

Chrissy Meier of the Digital Impact Alliance highlighted a critical gap, noting that most African cities have climate plans but lack local data for implementation. She cautioned against AI models trained on non-African data, which risk missing the realities of African communities. Raja’s advice: “Carpe Digital, seize the digital to make economies more efficient, inclusive, and greener.”

 

Making water infrastructure bankable

A high-level panel tackled the perception that water projects are uninvestable. Obadiah Mungai of the World Resources Institute Africa argued the real issue is translation: “How do you convert water outcomes into bankable outputs?” Fixing governance and data is the first step to attracting capital.

Louise Stafford of The Nature Conservancy cited Cape Town’s post-“Day Zero” investment in catchment restoration, which proved far more cost-effective than desalination. “There is a bigger risk in business as usual than in investing in water,” she said. The panel concluded that with robust preparation and blended finance, water resilience can become an attractive asset class.

 

Strengthening food security through renewable energy

Energy instability directly threatens food systems, without reliable power, irrigation fails and cold chains break. Henry Roman of the International Water Management Institute called for a holistic approach to the water-energy-food nexus, showcasing data tools helping farmers optimise water use.

Ian de Jager of I&F Engineering noted a new trend: farmers becoming energy producers, using small-scale hydropower to power operations and sell excess renewable energy certificates. Andrea Campher of Standard Bank added that with the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) now in effect, a farmer’s emissions profile is as critical as product quality. “Renewable energy strengthens ESG credibility,” she said.

AGES 2026 has laid the cornerstone for a resilient green economy, proving that when climate goals are woven into the continent’s core systems, ambition transforms into tangible progress. The next summit takes place 17-19 March 2027 in Cape Town.

Cassava Technologies (www.CassavaTechnologies.com), a global technology leader of African heritage, today announced its National Sovereign Cloud (NSC) solution, designed to support African governments with secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services.

The solution provides government customers with Cloud, Cyber Security, Compute AI infrastructure, Local-Language AI models, and an AI Institute to support national platforms across the public sector. It further supports collaboration with the public sector by developing digital skills for both enterprises and individuals to help ensure African economies can fully and securely participate in the digital economy.

Building upon this secure foundation, the strategy also includes high-impact delivery through AI applications and specialised Payments & Remittances infrastructure. This involves deploying conversational AI to enhance citizen engagement, creating AI models tailored to local languages, and driving financial inclusion.

Through these advancements, Cassava and its Cloud Partners (https://apo-opa.co/4ubGYZU) aim to enable governments to deploy AI-driven applications that improve public service delivery, strengthen citizen engagement, protect against emerging digital threats, and support economic development.

“Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign,” said Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology & AI Officer, Cassava Technologies. “Our National Sovereign Cloud solution enables governments to develop secure AI and Cloud environments that support national digital transformation while empowering African developers, enterprises, and institutions to create solutions that address the continent’s unique needs.”

By combining sovereign cloud infrastructure, advanced AI compute capabilities, and secure connectivity, Cassava serves as a technology partner, supporting Africa’s digital transformation by developing trusted, sovereign digital ecosystems.